What is Marriage ( Couple) and Family Therapy?

Relational Systemic Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that is a meta theory and a clinical lens through which a therapist assesses and addresses an individuals personal concerns, in the context of their relationships and contextual surroundings .  

 MFT practitioners assess people with mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and  illness.  Additionally, MFT's may work with people who suffer from a wide variety of psychological, physical  and relational symptoms including marital and couple conflict, parent and child conflict, addiction, grief, distress, and chronic illness, distress due to relocation, social economic and cultural barriers.

A registered marriage and family therapist is a mental health practitioner who, in addition to assessing psychological problems, applies systemic relational therapy to the family/cultural  context.   Systemic relational therapies grew out of marriage and family therapy.  Registered  Marriage and Family Therapists (RMFT's),  hold  a master’s degree or doctoral degree as well as specialized training that includes at least two years of 1,000 clinical hours and experience supervised by a marriage and family therapist.  Upon completion of the necessary requirements.  an MFT is permitted in Canada, to use the protected title " Registered Marriage and Family Therapist"  (RMFT) . 

In addition to finding a qualified  MFT practitioner, it is important to work with someone you and your partner can  trust and feel comfortable working with in a counselling environment.

RMFT's have been instrumental in establishing and maintaining the highest standards in   Psychotherapy and Clinical Supervision  in Canada.

References

• Canadian Association of Marriage and family therapy 
• American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy 
• Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards
• Karam EA, Blow AJ, Sprenkle DH, Davis SD. Strengthening the systemic ties that bind: Integrating common factors into marriage and family therapy curricula. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. April 2015;41(2):136-149.
• Hudak J and Giammattei SV. Doing family: Decentering heteronormativity in “marriage” and “family” therapy. Critical Topics in Family Therapy. 20 March 2014.
• Mayo Clinic: Family Therapy. Updated November 8, 2014; accessed December 19, 2015
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